UNH Study: Wood Pellet Heating Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Using wood pellets for home heating fuel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by more than half over fossil fuels and natural gas, according to new research from the N.H. Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of New Hampshire. John Gunn, research assistant professor of forest management and researcher with station, and colleagues with the Spatial Informatics […]

Using wood pellets for home heating fuel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by more than half over fossil fuels and natural gas, according to new research from the N.H. Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of New Hampshire.

John Gunn, research assistant professor of forest management and researcher with station, and colleagues with the Spatial Informatics Group — Natural Assets Laboratory in Pleasanton, Calif., conducted the research, a University of New Hampshire news release says. The findings were presented in “Greenhouse gas emissions of local wood pellet heat from northeastern U.S. forests” in the journal Energy, the release says.

“Wood pellet heat is a new and growing heating alternative in the United States and has been proposed as a climate-beneficial energy source to replace fossil fuels. However, little work has been done to assess this claim,” the researchers said in the release.

Those findings of the study include the following, according to the release:

• Pellets from sawmill residues showed the strongest greenhouse gas emission benefits compared to fossil fuel and propane. Wood pellet fuel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 54 percent versus home heating oil, and 59 percent versus natural gas.
• Making pellets from up to 75 percent pulpwood and 25 percent sawmill residues produced benefits.
• Shifting the existing harvest of pulpwood volume to pellets is beneficial to the climate.
• Market scenarios decreasing or increasing harvest levels greatly affected results.
• An estimated 42 percent of all energy consumed in the United States is for home heating, most of which is derived from fossil fuel, the release says.

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